Valve’s Gabe Newell shares his thoughts on DRM

Gabe Newell used his awards speech to speak about his thoughts on the industry …

At this year's Game Developer's Choice Awards, Vavle's Gabe Newell won the Pioneer Award, and he used the opportunity to share a slide show with the crowd of developers, press, and business people. His message? DRM is not good for business.

He spoke about DRM adding negative worth to products, and his remarks were greeted by loud and enthusiastic applause.

"One thing that you hear [Valve] talk a lot about is entertainment as a service. It's an attitude that says 'what have I done for my customers today?'" he said. "It informs all the decisions we make, and once you get into that mindset it helps you avoid things like some of the Digital Rights Management problems that actually make your entertainment products worth less by wrapping those negatives around them."

Of course, Steam is itself DRM pretending to be a service, but as long as gamers are willing to trade the ability to sell their games or have a physical copy for the added features and convenience offered, Newell will continue to have a good thing going. DRM isn't going away, but at the very least its harmful effects can be minimized.